There have been a number of investigations which indicate that certain bacterial and viral infections contribute to a subsequent development of the syndrome of rheumatoid arthritis as well as mild anemia. Some of these reports have indicated that there is a high incidence of anemia in patients which are suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. Such anemia is characterized as being moderately hypochromic and normocytic.
Freireich et al, in the article entitled "Radioactive Iron Metabolism & Erythrocyte Studies of the Mechanism of the Anemia Associated With Rheumatoid Arthritis", J. Clinical Investigation 36: 1055 (1957), reported the mechanism of said anemia in arthritic patients, appears to be the rate of said red cell destruction was increased while the rate of said red cell synthesis was comparable to normal. Said anemia results because erythropoiesis fails to increase in order to compensate for said increased rate of red cell destruction. Said erythropoiesis, includes the synthesis of stem cells maturing into red blood cells in the bone marrow and in said blood stream with its continuous division and differentiation, appears to be self-regulating and also under the influence of thyrotropin, a thyroid hormone.
Harris et al, in the article entitled "The Red Cell", Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 1972, page 737, noted said anemia associated with active rheumatoid arthritis appears to belong in the same general category as the anemia secondary to chronic infection or inflammation.
Harvey et al, in the article entitled, "Anemia Associated With Rheumatoid Diseases", Arthritis and Rheumatism, 26: 28 (1983), noted said mild anemia associated with arthritis, is the most commonly reported extra-articular manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis, yet its pathogenesis remains unclear.
Gray et al, in an article entitled, "Alkaloid, Lignan and Sterol Constituents of Zanthoxylum Simulans", Planta Medica, Vol. 39, no. 3, July 1980, page 209, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes the extraction and identification of some of the constituents of Zanthoxylum Simulans.
Gray et al found the major alkaloid in Zanthoxylum Simulans, was chelerythrine with smaller quantities of dihydro- and oxy-chelerythrine, N-acetylanomine, skimmianine, fagarine, sitosterol and sesamine. Another alkaloid was obtained as an oil, molecular formula C.sub.16 H.sub.17 O.sub.3 N, M.sup.+ 271.1211. Spectral characteristics were in accord with those of the angular pyranoquinoline alkaloid 8-methoxy-N-methylflindersine previously synthesized by Hifhawy et al. A dried root bark sample was Soxhlet extracted with light petroleum CHCl.sub.3 which yielded chelerythrine and then MeOH which gave candicine, sucrose and traces of magnoflorine.
Gray et al, in an article entitled "Alkaloids and Coumarins from North American Zanthoxylum Species", Lloydia, Vol. 38, 1975, pages 268-270, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an extraction procedure for root and stem barks of Zanthoxylum species.
To date, the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has been directed to the alleviation of the inflammation of the joints by the administration of the different anti-inflammatory drugs, including aspirin, ibuprofen, indometacin, phenylbutazone, fenoprofen, diclofenac, sulindac, tolmetin, corticosteroids, etc. Monitoring of the disease has been primarily with respect to the amount of inflammation and pain present. Treatment of the associated anemia by the administration of iron has been found to be ineffective either by oral iron or injected iron. It is well known that injected iron is eliminated more rapidly from the plasma space in patients with rheumatoid arthritis than in healthy persons.